Directing Thesis Interview: Benjamin Viertel
Benjamin Viertel presents The Threepenny Opera for the School of the Arts's second Directing Thesis production this year. A thrilling reinvention of Die Dreigroschenoper, known more commonly as "The Threepenny Opera”, set in the heart of New York City’s underground club scene. This audacious contemporary text by Leah Plante-Wiener, based on a new translation by Viertel and Nate Weida, transforms Brecht and Weill's classic critique of capitalism into a modern, hilarious, and brutally honest work for our times. With fresh lyrics and music by Weida inspired by EDM and house music, the production promises an exhilarating blend of sharp wit, sultry allure, and raw intensity.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself (your name, where you are from, the kind of work you’re interested in, etc.)?
My name is Benjamin Viertel and I’m a 3rd year MFA Director. I grew up in Nice, France with an Italian mother and German father. At 11, I emigrated to the U.S. speaking three languages, none of them English. As a director and foreigner, my work centralizes the experiences of outsiders while illuminating injustices and exposing the underpinnings of society. Through an amalgamation of American and European dramaturgical and theatrical styles, I create performances that teeter between seduction and aggression, focusing on the individual versus society, and investigating shame in theatrical work.
Can you give us a brief overview of your thesis?
Die Dreigroschenoper, known more commonly as The Threepenny Opera, was written by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill and premiered in 1928 at Berlin’s Theater am Schiffbauerdamm, the home of Brecht and Helene Weigel’s celebrated theater company, The Berliner Ensemble. The original source material for Brecht and Weil’s work was John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera, a ballad opera from 1728. The Threepenny Opera is a satirical musical that offers a socialist critique of capitalism. The story follows Macheath, a notorious criminal, as he juggles his romantic and transactional relationships, his gang’s criminal activities, and the parents of his new wife as they bend laws to pressure the police to arrest and hang him. As Macheath faces betrayal and police pursuit, the work explores themes of morality and societal corruption, culminating in a chaotic mix of love, greed, and survival.
Why did you decide to do this particular production for your thesis project?
The Threepenny Opera has been one of my favorite plays since 2005. I fell in love with the humor, the music, and the dangerous world these characters inhabit. I was inspired by Brecht and how his theories and approaches led to deeply honest acting and unique ways of bringing politics and humanity onstage. I find Brecht’s play an invitation for experimentation and directing The Threepenny Opera was an opportunity to show how fresh Brecht’s theories are and how his ideas can be translated into contemporary performance. What Brecht does so well is reveal all sides of characters and politically I’m very aligned with this idea. We must show the goodness and badness inherent in characters so that we can judge them for ourselves.
Can you tell us a little bit about your process in directing this show?
I’m extremely influenced by contemporary German productions, having directed several German plays and working with the Schaubuhne Berlin on another Brecht work. My desire has been from the beginning to create a production that fuses German dramaturgical practice with American theatrical aesthetics. I'm interested in showing American audiences what work in Germany looks and feels like while also giving them a little of what they recognize. Brecht more often than not feels like a museum piece in America. Brecht’s theories are read and interpreted as written and that just simply isn’t helpful or Brecht’s intention, in my opinion. It has been my goal to constantly remain in deep conversation with the audience.
When I began speaking with Nate Weida and Leah Plante-Weiner, the writers of the show, and with Zeina AlBarkouky, the dramaturg, I spoke about my desire to make this production extremely contemporary. I spoke about the work being a warning for today’s audiences, that if we continue down certain paths in our society, we will no longer have a society. In discussing the contemporary nature of the world of the play, we also spoke about adapting the music. Nate and I were deeply inspired by Billie Eilish and Phoebe Bridgers and wanted to set the play in an underground sex club where Kurt Weill’s music was adapted into EDM house music. Once we found the language and sounds of the world, a lot fell into place. The design fell into place and so did the characterizations. And then the rehearsal process has been just about how can we push the scenes to more heartbreaking places.
What do you hope the audience will get out of the performance?
I hope that audiences are entertained first and foremost. I’d be thrilled if audiences went home humming the songs and recalling various funny moments. I also hope audiences are challenged by certain moments. Audience participation is essential to our work and they play a significant role in the plot and outcome of the play. Therefore, I hope some audiences will leave thinking about the capitalistic organization of our society, the role that justice and punishment play in our lives and what it means to live a moral life when everything around us seems amoral.
What has been the most exciting part about this project?
I have loved working with Leah and Nate on the adaptation of this text, lyrics and music! I’m so excited by the work they have done and how deeply they’ve investigated the world, the characters, and the politics of this piece. I have loved working with my creative team of designers, my choreographer, my dramaturg, producer, stage management team and others. I genuinely feel like we brought out the best in each other through our collaborations. I have loved working with the actors and the band on creating these characters and developing the music and the world. It has been a thrill to bring this team together. I’m very excited to see how audiences react to our adaptation, to the new music, and to the moments of improvisation and audience involvement. It’s going to be thrilling and alive and I’m excited to see how it evolves every night.
What is your philosophy for directing?
My philosophy for directing is to invite as many people into the process as possible. I can’t direct without others, therefore, it’s essential to me to invite my actors and collaborators to bring themselves to the work. I have found the best work is the work that is deeply personal for all involved. I also think a lot about how to represent relationships or humans onstage. I am drawn to characters who aren’t afraid to be ugly or complicated or problematic or unfinished. We all are all those things and characters that reveal those sides will actually allow us – as audiences – to engage with those sides of ourselves and hopefully, eventually, we will make the world a better place by engaging with the nasty parts we typically hide away.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
I’d love to be directing around the world. A dream of mine is to direct in New York City, across the United States in the regions, and internationally all in the same year. I see myself directing theater, filmed projects, and opera and hope to be doing it soon after graduating.
What is the next play you want to direct?
I’ll be directing Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure in December at Columbia, so that’s what I’ll be doing next. But I’d love to return to working on my 2nd year Materials play. A play I created with Anouk Kesou and Aditya Lal Chadha about New York City’s infamous ‘cannibal cop.’ The new work based on a true story centers on a NYC cop who fantasizes about cannibalizing his wife and her friends. When the cop’s wife investigates his computer search history and discovers his cannibalistic plans on a fetish website, she calls the cops fearing for her life. He says they were fantasies, she says they were plans. Can the truth be uncovered? Can thought become crime? I’m excited to return to that play’s development and an eventual production.
Is there anything else you would like to share about yourself and/or this project?
I could not have done this show without all of my collaborators, my professors, the staff at Lenfest and Columbia SoA, and all of the supporters who donated to this production. Thank you to the hundreds of people it took to bring this show to the stage. Thank you, thank you! Please come see The Threepenny Opera running at Lenfest Center for the Arts October 17-20, 2024!
About the Director
Benjamin Viertel is a director based in New York City who has worked off-Broadway, regionally, and internationally. Benjamin grew up in France with an Italian mother and German father. At 11 he emigrated to the U.S. speaking three languages, none of them English. A director and foreigner, his work makes the outsider experience central while illuminating injustices and exposing the underpinnings of society. Through an amalgamation of American and European dramaturgical and theatrical styles, Benjamin creates performances that teeter between seduction and aggression, focusing on the individual versus society, and investigating shame in the personal and political spheres. Benjamin’s work has been reviewed by The New Yorker and The New York Times, among others. Benjamin holds a BFA in Directing from Carnegie Mellon University and is pursuing his MFA in Directing at Columbia University.